Well today was the day where Norah rode her bike for the first time without any training wheels. She'd been ready for a while, so we went down to the workshop and took the training wheels off her bike. We then went out on our road and with some encouraging talk and trust that daddy was close, she rode her bike all on her own for the first time today. I think I was smiling more than her when she came to a stop. No spills and no tears.
Then when we went inside, she did the most amazing thing ever. She picked up her training wheels and handed them to her younger sister telling her that she didn't need them anymore and she can have them. I happened to have my camera on and ready for the shot. One in a million, one in a million.
Today I rode with Tom Thornton for the first time. He and I were introduced through Keith of Banshee Bikes so we hit The Woodlot for a ride and a building session.
Tom rides a Banshee Scythe and is a very solid rider, in fact I'd say he is damn fast. Most times I bring someone out for their first ride at The Woodlot I wait on the trails for them to make sure they are okay or don't get lost. Not with Tom. He was on my wheel no matter what we were riding.
We rode Upper and Lower Toadstool (covered in snow), Snakes and Ladders, Bloggy Style x2 and then Shotgun (covered in snow).
On Snakes and Ladders, we roughed in the new line around the washed away section of trail. A really good start was made on this section and it should be complete within no time at all.
I had a really good ride and it was nice meeting someone new to ride with on the trails.
Dave, a buddy of mine called me up the other day and asked if I'd like to do a photo shoot with me riding the Legend. I've done one other photo shoot before on my Rune and got a few banger shots so I was really looking forward this.
I had just got new forks for my Legend (Boxxer World Cups to replace Fox 40s) so sessioning sections was alright with me for dialing in my fork during the shoot.
We shot on Lower Toadstool and Bloggy Style for a few hours. 40 or so shots were taken which means 40 or so times up and down a section. In the end there were a few very nice shots taken by Dave. He had to leave a little early so once he was gone, I went up to Snakes and Ladders for a quick ride and then down Shotgun.
Overall it was a great day of shooting and I had a good ride as well.
Well this week saw me riding with the same guys as last week, but this week they decided we would do some filming.
So with that in mind we made our way to The Woodlot again and rode Snakes and ladders and Shotgun. When filming for people you tend to do a lot of repeats for different angles and additional footage. In other words you really get a workout and do a lot of riding when filming.
Brody made up a 'webisode' and it was featured as a PinkBike video of the day. Most of the riding was shot over two days where I attended for one. Overall the end product turned out pretty good.
During the day we were shooting, we saw LOTS of people on the trails because of the decent weather and the fact that the Woodlot is the only place locally where there isn't a ton of snow anymore.
Overall a great day of riding and good time filming and once again the Legend Mk1 showed me just how much fun and easy it is to go really, really fast on a bike.
This morning I was joined by Brody and James for a rip at The Woodlot. The snow further receded up the hill and more trails were clear so we decided to get up to Blood Donor.
Now the Legend is a pure DH bike and I have the seat set at a height for me to ride it down hill only so the ascent today was purely a push and at times I was carrying the bike as well.
The ride today started at 7:30am so it was cold and icy which made riding the woodwork on the upper trails rather dangerous. Bets were made as to how many times each of us would go down and at the end of the day, James won with 4 bails in the snow with a swollen ankle and a sacking to the nuts...OUCH!
Even with the slack head angle of the Legend, the bike handles tight turns on wet rooty trails quite well. One attribute of the bike that shined through was the laterally stiff rear end that gave me confidence on the wet and icy roots. Knowing that I only had my tires influencing the lateral movement of the bike and not flex makes negotiating the roots that much easier.
Giant Killer was the next trail on the menu and it was simply awesome. There is an amazing amount of flow on this trail and ripping it on a big bike is loads of fun. Fortunately there were no mishaps on Giant Killer and we then rode over to Snakes and Ladders.
This was the Legends maiden run down Snakes (my trail) and I felt at home on this bike. James and Brody paused to snap a few shots of me riding a couple turns and the photos are below.
So with Snakes now under our belt and we made our way over to Bloggy Style. One thing about the Legend that I have really noticed is how quite the bike is while riding. There is no pinging of the chain or vibration through the frame at all, the only thing you can hear are your tires drifting in the corners and the giggles in your head from having so much fun.
We decided to ride Bloggy twice and on the 2nd run, we put my helmet camera on Brody so that he could record James and I rippging Bloggy Style and straight into Shotgun.
The ride today was a load of fun with two guys I have not seen in a while. The Legend is proving to be a very impressive bike. The bike tracks very well over roots and is extremely predictable. It eats up the rough sections and rails tight corners with confidence. I cannot wait to get this bike on some longer rougher pure DH type trails.
Today was first time I've been able to ride the Legend on the trails. The Installation Lap.
All I can say is that it was well worth the wait. After receiving the frame earlier this month, I'd build the bike up and just had to sit and wait for the snow in my area to melt and recede further up the mountains. It has been over a month since I have been able to ride so being able to get out on my new Legend was oh so sweet.
Last week I could have brought the bike out for a ride on maybe one trail, but I thought getting some trail maintenance done was more important and was worth the effort because I was able to ride the trail that I cleared last week of fallen trees.
With the lower trails clear of snow, I made my way up to The Woodlot and did a few shake down runs to get a feel for my new steed.
One word sums up this bike. Speed. It is fast and pedals really, really well. When you mash on the pedals while riding downhill on most bikes you can feel the suspension working but you are met with mush at the pedals, well my friends, not with the Legend. The pedal is firm, really firm. Nearly every once of power you put into you pedal stroke is met with a surge forward and speed on this bike builds up fast.
The Legend is low slung and slack. This makes for a bike that is really comfortable at speed and gives the rider added confidence knowing the bike will be stable and predictable as speed increases.
My bike is equipped with a Fox 40 RC2 fork and a Cane Creek Double Barrel (CCDB) rear shock. The CCDB comes with a nice little manual that explains how the shock works and how to tune it to the riders needs. I brought this manual with me today and over the course of an afternoon got a good start on getting my suspension dialed in.
The trail I rode was Bloggy Style, not a trail that I ride very often, but it is a trail that offers lots of turns, roots, bumps, whoops and sections you can pedal on which are all essential to aiding in tuning a suspension. Six laps later and I am comfortable with the set-up and in the coming weeks I know I'll be getting in a lot more riding to really get this bike up to speed.
installation lap noun. - An F1 term to describe the necessary lap on arrival at a circuit to test functions such as throttle, steering and brakes before returning to the pits. Also know as the shake down run or the first run of a vehicle or bike.
The initial impression that the bike left with me after it's maiden voyage on dirt is that it is a bike made to go fast. It is long, low, slack, builds up speed very easily and pedals like a dream.
My part of the world was paid a visit by Old Man Winter and we are now under a blanket of snow.
Today the snow conditions on the trails were spectacular. The snow wasn't too deep and was dry and powder like; offering incredible grip.
I was only there briefly but made my way to Snakes and Ladders and Shotgun. I carried my chainsaw and cut all of the fallen trees and branched off these trails and the road up to them.
Another stump carving at The Woodlot
The drainage trough on Snakes and Ladders filled with a small ice waterfall.
The second day of the IMBA trail clinic was all about building. Yesterday several projects were started and today the goal was to get them completed.
In the end, some mistakes were made and some of the features built will need to be altered, fixed, revised or removed.
I walked away having learned some new skills and ideas about building. I also learned some lessons from the mistakes that were made.
Additional work is going to be needed to get the sections of trail that were worked on running perfectly, but as with most things in life things can be fixed and we can all learn from our mistakes.
I was invited to attend an International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) trail clinic at The Woodlot to get some new ideas and education on trail building methods.
This blog entry could realistically end up a novel if I went into the details of all that was discussed and the work that took place on Shotgun. I met some great people and learned a few tricks in regards to building.
The active role that IMBA takes to keep trails open and legal for people on bikes around the world and specifically in the US and Canada is to be applauded.
The work and ideas that IMBA has about trail building and trail features is a subject that is hotly contested and open for debate here in the Vancouver area, but a tremendous effort was put forth by IMBA and the volunteers during the build today.
One of the two stump carvings that has popped up at The Woodlot
I came to The Woodlot today with the intention of fixing or getting a really good start on fixing a ground water problem on Snakes and Ladders. In one particular spot, when the rains are heavy, water springs up from underground and flows like a river along the trail. I have now called this the Geyser section.
I met up with Richard at the bottom and we rode to the top of Snakes to recover a couple tools, and then down to the nasty section. For a change, I was on my hard tail.
Without going into the spirit crushing details, I feel our efforts would have been better served elsewhere. The lesson I have learned is that it is impossible to control mother nature. Ground water is not something to enter into a battle with on a single track trail. If you have ground water coming up, don't disturb the ground, just armour or re-route.
Currently we are left with a bomb hole. The water has literally created a bomb hole on the trail and a river where the trail used to be for a 20 foot section of the trail. If the line is to be kept I think I'll need a dump truck load of rock, or a big ladder section will need to be constructed.
After seeing the damage that the water has done, my plan is to ladder this whole section. We need to get above the water as it is impossible to contain, constrain or control the water.
The glove in the photo show two of the many spots where water is spewing onto the trail
Water is pumping out from between the rocks.
This shot shows the damage the water has done to the trail. The trail is currently a small creek.
Over the next few weeks I will be gathering the materials I'll be needing.
The ride out to my car was not one filled with a sense of accomplishment. Mother nature has beat me down.
Then when we went inside, she did the most amazing thing ever. She picked up her training wheels and handed them to her younger sister telling her that she didn't need them anymore and she can have them. I happened to have my camera on and ready for the shot. One in a million, one in a million.
I had a really good ride and it was nice meeting someone new to ride with on the trails.
So with Snakes now under our belt and we made our way over to Bloggy Style. One thing about the Legend that I have really noticed is how quite the bike is while riding. There is no pinging of the chain or vibration through the frame at all, the only thing you can hear are your tires drifting in the corners and the giggles in your head from having so much fun.
Another stump carving at The Woodlot
The drainage trough on Snakes and Ladders filled with a small ice waterfall.
One of the two stump carvings that has popped up at The Woodlot
The glove in the photo show two of the many spots where water is spewing onto the trail
Water is pumping out from between the rocks.
This shot shows the damage the water has done to the trail. The trail is currently a small creek.
